Joel's Journal- A Weekly Bulletin Paulo Freire — Education transforms people. People transform the world.

Week of November 4th

Calendar:

November 4 (M)
PBIS CFK Focus: Appreciations

November 5 (T)
Conferences from 4PM- 8 PM

Picture Retakes from 10 AM – 1 PM

November 6 (W)

November 7 (H)
No School- Conferences from 8 AM-8 PM

November 8 (F)
No School- Teachers sleeping in after conferences.

Conferences Dinner and other details- This week, PTO has arranged to feed teachers on Tuesday evening. They will be bringing some yummy soups and bread and beverages.  Also, on Thursday, I have arranged for teachers to have pizza and salad from Mezzaluna Pizza. The office will arrange to pick up some drinks on Thursday. Interpreting will occur in Lisa Chinn’s office this year.  Most interpreting is scheduled for Tuesday evening.  There is also a phone interpreting service which can be arranged for families if more families ask for this service last minute. Lisa will also be staying at conferences much of Tuesday and Thursday. She will be making the PA announcement to move out on from conference appointments every 20 minutes for us while I am gone. Thank you Lisa!

Scholastic Week- The copies of Scholastic Week have been coming in. Earlier this week Kristie sent out an email detailing when each classroom’s box will come in.  Please check with her if you are curious about your classroom’s copies.

Drive for Education from Kendall- As you may know,  the Kendall Drive for Education Program does great things for schools.  Last Spring, we actually were able to raise money for the school from parents taking cars on test drives.  This new program is a Drive for Education Art Contest that you may want to take a look at.  It could help us raise funds for our school.

Training on Medications Increases- Last week, Robin trained more staff on how to administer medications properly.  We have more classified staff properly trained to administer meds in a safe manner.  This will help Kristie and the front office at key times when there are many other things happening in the beehive. Thank you Robin for helping us get training in this area.  On the topic of training, we are currently drastically low in CPR trained staff.  I had an idea that we might want to try to do an optional CPR training combined with dinner sometime this upcoming Winter. Maybe this could be made into a fun event broken up with training that helps us all be more prepared in case of emergency.

Please Pay Social Dues- Here is a message from Melody, our Social Chair:

Social dues need to be paid to continue supporting fun and caring activities for our staff.

Licensed Dues are $25.00

Classified Dues are $15.00

Checks need to be made out to Awbrey Park. Please put the money or checks in Melody’s box.  If you give cash, please label it in a small envelope with your name.  Thank you to those of you who have already given dues.

A Month of Appreciation to Our Staff (Caring For Kids Focus)-I have spoken to several teachers in the building who feel that a culture of respect and courtesy is waning at Awbrey Park.  The good news is that our classroom caring school communities this year are building classroom wide positive student to student relationships.  The concerns I have heard relate to student/ adult interactions.  Teachers, I encourage you to spend time teaching your caring school communities in class meetings or in morning meetings how to appreciate and show respect to Awbrey Park staff and volunteers.  This month, I also encourage you to give PAWS to students who demonstrate a high level of respect to staff and volunteers. If you notice something, spectacular, please write a Kingston Kiddo.

District Title 1 News for November – If you’d like to know what’s being communicated to Title 1 Coordinators from the district level, here is a link to the November Title 1 Newsletter.

OSPIRG Energy Education Presentations – OSPIRG is a student-directed nonprofit at Lane Community College and they are offering free educational presentations for students of all ages that focus on the value of conserving energy and promoting active environmental stewardship. Sample lessons can be found here and here. If you’re interested in having a presenter, contact Charlotte Helton, OSPIRG Energy Service Corp. Coordinator, at (541) 505-1582 or charlottehelton12@gmail.com

Where is Joel this week?

I previously mentioned that I would be going to the CFEE workshop on equity in education. This year, the CFEE directors have asked me to help facilitate at this workshop. It is my hope that I will continue to learn and grow in this area with new people from around Oregon this week in Cottage Grove.  I will also bring back new tools to help us continue to support all our students with an equity lens in our building. Later this year, I plan on sending a team to the February CFEE. Please contact me if you thing you would be willing to commit a week to this profound experience. I hope to send classified and licensed staff together.

Equity Links of the Week:

Thanksgiving in the Classroom  –

Juan Gonzalez of Boston kindled a fire under the statue of Massasoit in a prayer ritual during the 41st National Day of Mourning in Plymouth . (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

This is a repeat from last year, but with Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to remind staff to keep in mind that student conceptions of Native Americans often come from classroom activities around the First Thanksgiving. The conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is often both inaccurate and potentially damaging. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learned in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the “First Thanksgiving” is a mixture of both history and myth. Thanksgiving activities should avoid reinforcing historical myths and should also avoid stereotypes (ie. NO warbonnets!). It’s best to shift the focus away from reenacting the “First Thanksgiving” and instead focus on items children can be thankful for in their own lives and on their families’ celebrations of Thanksgiving. One good resource on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at Education World. Here is a good article with a Native American perspective on Thanksgiving. Also, the 4J Natives Program is a resource that is available for classroom presentations and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture.

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